


Bitter (Iwaizumi x Reader)

by kuroolongtea



Category: Haikyuu!!, ハイパープロジェクション演劇「ハイキュー!!」| Hyper Projection Play "Haikyuu!!" RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Drama & Romance, F/M, Heavy Angst, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27549013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroolongtea/pseuds/kuroolongtea
Summary: Bumping into your ex-boyfriend is never easy, for many reasons. One of them, is having to see him with his new girlfriend.Soundtrack: "Bitter" by Fletcher“I hate that I can tell that someone’s probably in my shoes by now.”
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Reader
Comments: 14
Kudos: 100





	Bitter (Iwaizumi x Reader)

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this piece is part of the angstvember event i'm holding on tumblr, so feel free to follow me there (@kuroolongtea) to read more :)

Today’s supposed to be a good day.

You finally turned in a school project you’ve been working on for weeks, and you’re celebrating by treating yourself to a burger for lunch at your favorite diner.

So why, _why_ is it, that the second you step into the familiar restaurant, smelling of beef patties and french fries, you see the person none other than your ex-boyfriend.

Iwaizumi Hajime, the ex-boyfriend whom you haven’t seen in three months since the breakup that ended—for lack of a better phrase—fucking horribly.

And not only that, he has company: a new girlfriend sitting beside him at the bar counter where they’re eating, her fingers interlocked with his as she chats away happily, her back facing you.

Is he serious?

Iwaizumi’s taking his new side piece to _your_ favorite spot?

You stop mid-thought immediately upon detecting the hostility of your comments.

You’re well aware that his new girlfriend hasn’t done anything wrong, and it wasn’t right for you to call her a “side piece” just because you’re bitter about how things ended between you and Iwaizumi.

Standing as still as you can manage in line while waiting for your turn to place an order, your pupils slide ever so slightly in the direction of your ex-boyfriend—who just so happens to look up at the same time.

And now you know, that he knows you’re here too.

Your eyes dart back in front of you, to the back of the head of the customer you’re waiting behind, but you can’t help but peer at Iwaizumi again.

He looks slightly distracted now, while his girlfriend continues to ramble cheerfully; he hasn’t said a word, she hasn’t turned around to give you a dirty glance, and they definitely don’t seem like they plan on leaving the diner.

Then it occurs to you.

 _Oh_.

Iwaizumi hasn’t told her about you.

Owing to your peripheral vision which seems to be much wider today than usual, you see Iwaizumi release his hand from hers and wrap his tan, muscular arm around her waist, pulling her close in a sickeningly affectionate gesture that he’d once used on you.

But Iwaizumi doesn’t realize that you’ve always noticed his little mannerisms, and the subconscious meanings behind them, more than he even knew himself.

You’ve always known that when you two were alone, Iwaizumi preferred slinging his arm around your shoulder—it was more comfortable that way, but still a casual display of affection.

But when you two were out in public or any other place where he felt the need to let people know that you were _his_ girlfriend, he always put his arm around your waist instead—like he’s doing now with his new darling.

It almost makes you want to scoff, and you wonder if you should feel flattered that the great Iwaizumi Hajime finds it necessary to demonstrate _so_ openly to you that he’s moved on and got a girlfriend now.

You ponder if she knows how much history you and Iwaizumi have, or if they’ve gotten into a fight yet.

You suppress a dry smile from making its way up to your lips.

Ah, yes.

The egregious arguments with Iwaizumi Hajime, in which other people’s words simply do not go through to him when he’s angry, and when he always thinks that only _he_ knows what’s best.

You’re adamant in not showing it solely to deny him the satisfaction, but deep down, you’re bitter. 

So, so bitter.

After all, _you_ used to be the one sitting next to him, letting him feed you golden fries with one hand and taking a cute picture of you with the other. Seeing him do that with someone else leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

You’re bitter that, instead of trying to fix things with you when they were getting bad in your relationship, he gave up on it instead.

You’re bitter at the fact that he seems to have moved on just fine, so _quickly_ , from you—the person he’d once called the “love of his life.”

Funny. 

Really funny.

But you’re also well aware that Iwaizumi’s not the only one to blame; relationships are a two-way street, after all.

_“Let’s break up.”_

Weren’t you the one who’d uttered those three words?

Yes.

 _You_ were the one who said them with tears pooling up in your eyes after fighting with him yet _again_ , but you knew you were both thinking it—for a long, long time before the words had actually left your mouth, too.

Sparing both you and Iwaizumi’s pain and tension, you’re able to quickly place your lunch order and take your food to-go, turning to leave the diner as briskly as you can.

Emotions that feel like sadness and anger well up in your chest, but you’re unable to distinguish any difference between the two.

You feel a sense of misdirected, wrongful resentment as you make your exit, and you hope to never have experience that feeling—or see your ex-boyfriend’s face—ever again.

But, of course, not even two weeks pass before you do.

The universe has always had a knack for showing its fondness of you through its own sick, twisted ways.

You and your friend from school had organized a study date together at her apartment, and after losing count of how many hours the two of you have drudged through piles of worksheets, textbook chapters, and practice exams, it was mutually agreed upon that this was a good chance to take a much-needed break.

She opted to take a nap, and you chose to walk to the nearest boba shop a few blocks away—you could use some sugar in your system.

And surely enough, once you walk up to the cash register to place your order, you see Iwaizumi sitting at a booth by himself a little farther into the shop.

He’s looking down at his phone, but you’d recognize that spiky brown hair anywhere, unfortunately.

You wonder which god or deity you’ve severely pissed off to be bestowed this _wonderful_ situation.

Whichever one it is, you would like to sincerely apologize.

After paying for your drink and moving aside for the person behind you to order, you stand for a brief moment to observe Iwaizumi from afar.

He’s wearing the outfit he always wears whenever he goes stress-running: his light grey Adidas hoodie, black track pants, and the dark grey Nike running shoes which you’d bought him for Christmas last year.

The sight invokes a sentimental feeling somewhere deep within your heart that you wish weren’t there.

Too tired from studying all day to panic, and perhaps feeling a soft sense of peace seeing him still wearing the shoes you gifted him, you sigh and walk towards your ex-boyfriend.

Taking a deep breath, you close the remaining distance between you two with a few easy strides, slipping smoothly into the booth opposite of him.

He blinks, slightly startled, and looks up at you in surprise while taking his earphones out. 

Iwaizumi is admittedly flustered at the sight of you; he feels like he should be angry or annoyed, but, for some reason, those emotions don’t come to him today.

You can read him like a book, and it’s apparent that something is on his mind, but you don’t ask him what it is.

“What’re you doing here?” you ask instead, casually. “You don’t even like boba.”

“I went on a run and wanted some agedashi tofu after,” he shrugs in response, looking at his order receipt. “They have it here on the menu.”

“Ah.”

You nod, but in a way that says, “I don’t believe you at all but I won’t press.”

The two of you sit in a strange balance between tense and comfortable silence as he stares down at his phone screen—not quite at anything in partcular—while you keep shifting between glancing at him and the large, light-up menu on the wall behind him.

The way Iwaizumi’s bottom lip slightly juts out makes his state of mind so _painfully_ obvious.

You sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

Iwaizumi lifts his head at the sound of your voice, locking his eyes with yours.

“What do you mean?” he asks with poorly feigned confusion. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Something’s clearly wrong,” you say, as-a-matter-of-factly. “Did you and your new girlfriend fight?”

He stiffens at the way you immediately guessed what was going on.

This guy should really give you more credit. _Men_.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” you say coolly, leaning back in the cushioned booth and creasing your order receipt. “But don’t keep it all bottled up inside you like you always do.”

Iwaizumi bites his lip, now clearly contemplating the offer.

He’s not sure if confiding in his ex-girlfriend is a good idea, but you also don’t seem like you have any ill intent. 

And he can’t deny the tugging in his chest that wants him to open up to you—the one that has always been there. The one that he never used to listen to.

As you’re about to get up and leave at his silence, he opens his mouth.

“Yeah, we fought.”

You raise an eyebrow at the fact that he’s actually telling you, and wait patiently for him to continue.

“I’m just…” Iwaizumi starts, brows crinkling together as he tries to find the right words to piece together a sentence. “I’m dealing with a lot of my own shit, and she wants to help, but there’s not much she can do for me.”

Uh-oh.

You don’t like where this is going. Not one bit.

“She’s so damn persistent too,” he continues, grumbling. “And I don’t want to weigh her down with my personal issues, but she thinks I’m pushing her away.”

Okay, _now_ you’re triggered.

You sigh again.

“Oh man, Iwa.”

“What?” he almost snaps at you, but the word comes off as more genuinely confused than anything else.

You inhale slowly, hoping he’ll take what you’re about to say well.

“How can she _not_ think you’re pushing her away?” You roll your eyes. “Part of being in a relationship is being able to trust and support your other half, but you’re not even giving her the chance.”

“She literally can’t do anything to fix my problems,” Iwaizumi responds, a slight hint of irritation in his voice already starting to reveal itself. “And she’s just gonna feel worse when she realizes that—”

“You don’t know that,” you say, cutting him off. “I know you think you have all the answers and you always know what’s best, but if she’s trying this hard, she must really like you. And she really, _really_ cares.”

You throw in a smirk so he knows you’re not trying to pick a fight with him.

“You should give her a chance,” you finish.

He sighs exasperatedly, propping his elbows up on the table and running his fingers through his hair. “How would you know that?”

“I just do. Trust me.”

The air between you feels still and heavy as your words linger. They hold so much more weight than you let on, and Iwaizumi suddenly feels a slight aching in his chest.

He’s flashing back to all the times he’s pushed you away, all the times he unintentionally let out his frustration on you, all the times he asked why you couldn’t just leave him the _hell_ alone, when you were just trying to help.

All the times he wanted to apologize, but didn’t know how.

The bitterness he’d felt towards you these past three months were nowhere to be detected.

Instead, he feels sorry.

He feels sorry for making you worry, for making you cry, for letting you leave.

He feels sorry, to you.

And before his emotions could start drifting even further into dangerous territory, Iwaizumi reminds himself that you two are exes for a reason—you may have been an important part of his past, but she is his present, and possibly future.

“Did you tell her about me?” you ask, breaking the long silence. But then you remember your brief encounter at the diner a couple of weeks ago. “Probably not, huh. I was just curious.”

“I did,” Iwaizumi replies, his voice steady and unreadable.

“Really?” You blink in surprise. “How’d she react? What did you say?”

“That you’re a crazy bitch,” he shrugs.

“Fuck you.”

“I’m kidding.”

“No you’re not.”

“Okay, I’m like half-kidding,” Iwaizumi chuckles, and you can’t help but smile a bit as well. “I told her you were a bitch sometimes, but…”

He trails off.

“But?”

He takes a sharp breath.

“But I really did love you. You were a really important part of my life, and you helped shape me into the person I am today.”

You’re stunned.

Speechless.

It’s been a while since you’ve heard him say something like that to you. His lack of expressing affection was something you two used to fight about.

Your heart feels like it’s going to burst. Or rip itself in half. To be honest, you can’t really tell.

“Oh. Huh.”

That’s all you can manage to get out.

Iwaizumi shrugs again and looks away, scratching the back of his neck.

You two sit in silence again, but this time it feels simultaneously more comfortable _and_ more tense than earlier.

You hear the store employee call out your order number, and Iwaizumi’s eyes follow you as you get up to retrieve your drink.

“Welp, I guess it’s time for me to go,” you announce, still trying to shake the shock at what he’d just said to you. “Think about what I said, please?”

“Yeah,” he grunts, no longer looking at you as you turn to leave.

“And try not to be so stubborn, for god’s sake,” you chuckle as lightheartedly as you can without your voice breaking. “If she really makes you happy, cherish her. Don’t let something as useless as pride drive her away.”

Iwaizumi tightens his grip on the receipt still in his hand, and he’s not sure if he can bring himself to look at you.

You force your quivering lips to twitch upwards into a smile, but he doesn’t notice. 

“Bye, Hajime.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments are greatly appreciated, and thank you for reading! ♡


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